Monthly Archives: January 2017

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A recent Court decision may have wide implications for how Crown Lands are used and managed.

In NSW, parcels of Crown Land have typically been dedicated for a specific use. The court case involved land Reserved for Public Recreation. The judge found that such land can only be used for public recreation.

In the past, many parcels of Crown Land Reserved for Public Recreation have been alienated for Private Use. Typically, the land has been leased (either by the State Government of local Councils) to a private body (such as a tennis club, swimming pool or golf club). Often these leases contain clauses that the land must also be available to the public (often for a fee).

The Court determined that clauses seeking to provide access to the public for such land did not meet the relevant test. So, the finding has widespread implications.

We are waiting to see if Councils and the Land Department appeal the decision. If not, we would like to see the process and timeline for returning alienated Crown Land to the public.

Then the Toll Operator issues you with a Toll Infringement Notice. They charge you the cost of the unpaid toll plus $1.10 administration plus another charge of $10.

Given you may make multiple trips with a ‘flat battery’ your costs will soon skyrocket. This is exacerbated due to the fact that the toll operator waits a couple of weeks to issue the notice. You could be up for hundreds of dollars.

A morally and unethical aspect of this situation is that the RMS and the Toll Operator can see that you have a ‘low battery’, but they do not advise you. RMS advised that you need to listen to the beep which is different if the battery is low (or no beep I guess if the battery is dead flat).

I recently received a couple of notices for two days for around $ydney. I argued that the eTag with a low battery was’not fit for the purpose that it was provided for‘. The Toll Operator agreed to waive the extra fees and only charge for the outstanding tolls.

If you travel with a trailer or caravan you should list the trailer on your eTag account as when a tag is not detected the camera takes a shot of the rear of the vehicle. If you list the trailer the toll charge will go to your account (presumably without a ‘fine’).

Willoughby residents are being encouraged to have their say on the proposed introduction of new boat trailer parking restriction across the entire Willoughby Local Government Area (LGA) through a community consultation process. This follows recent amendments to the Impounding Act, 1993 that grants councils new powers regarding boat trailer parking restrictions.

The changes have been developed to:

discourage the nuisance caused by the long term parking of unattended registered boat trailers on public roads – often by people who do not live in the local area; and

encourage the off-street storage of boat trailers and free up on-street parking spaces for local residents.

The new legislation relates only to registered boat trailers, with registered box trailers and caravans not included. The changes will enable Council to implement tighter management arrangements in relation to registered boat trailers on public roads.

If the new powers are applied, boat trailers must move at least every 28 days, and must move at least one street block. If the boat trailer does not move, Council must provide the registered owner with 15 days’ notice before impounding the trailer. The changes to the Impounding Act, 1993 also provide Council with the option of establishing a charge for the release of an impounded item.

Council considered a report in relation to this matter at its meeting on Monday 14 November, 2016. The report may be accessed and viewed online at

The Department of Planning as released the draft bill for changes to the legislation. It is open for comment until early March. Please read and consider making a submission. If you do make a submission, please send a copy to us at cwwpa.org@gmail.com

WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED BY WILLOUGHBY COUNCIL THAT THIS APPLICATION HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.

The Church of Scientology at 126 Greville Street is trying to “creep” their hours of operation. Their approved hours of operation are 8:30AM to 8:30PM, 7 days a week with premises to be vacated by 9:30PM.

There has been numerous complaints about late might noise as parisioners leave well after approved hours.

The Church now is requesting the hours of operation of the ’business premises’ and ’place of public worship’ are restricted to 7.45am to 10.00pm, 7 days a week. Except for security staff and/or cleaners, all staff, parishioners and visitors shall: – vacate the premises via Greville Street no later than 1 O.OOpm to 10.30pm. – vacate the premises via Millwood Avenue no later than 11.45pm. Parishioners typically do their theological studies throughout the day in study periods of 2.5 hours. On Sunday mornings, those already on site attend a one hour service in the Chapel which takes place within the standard hours of hours of operation.

The following comments from a nearby resident may indicate that as Council has previously stated, they are too busy thinking about amalgamation to respond to resident’s reasonable requests. Also, it is concerning that it appears that our Ward Councillors are not on top of this issue.

“Can Council please advise on the following outstanding issues with regards to the Council Albert St carpark renovations, which included chopping down 10 trees in Currey Park and its subsequent consequences. Some of the issue have been outstanding for a long time.

Timing to replace the 2 trees that were removed by Council workers on 17 Nov 2016. Also, can the trees be of larger size then the previous trees, and capable of growing to at least 12 m as required by the DA approval condition

Status of the transfer of 50 car spaces from the youth centre precinct. This query was asked of Council in October 2015

If Council is unsure of the details regarding any of the queries, please ask and details will be provided.

Even though much time has passed, the residents would appreciate a response from Council. After all, Council’s purpose is to serve its residents.”